EARLY REVIEW: Before the Dawn by Cynthia Eden

Title: Before the Dawn
Author: Cynthia Eden
Series: #2 in the Killer Instinct series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: HQN Books (July 25, 2017)
Source: NetGalley
Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: Ex-SEAL Tucker Frost knows that the world is full of evil. He saw it in the face of his own brother, Jason Frost, a cold, methodical, sadistic killer. A killer Tucker put down with his own hands in order to save Jason's final victim—Dawn Alexander, the only girl who got away from the infamous "Iceman."

It's Tucker's up close and personal experience with evil that's made him perfect for Samantha Dark's experimental profiling division in the FBI. Samantha wants agents who have personal ties with killers, who have unique insights into the minds of monsters. And when women start turning up murdered with the same MO used by the Iceman, Tucker is sent back to Louisiana to investigate.

The last person he expects to see is his ex-lover, Dawn. Ten full years have passed since the night that Tucker faced down his brother…and since he last saw Dawn. But the dark need still burns just as hot between Tucker and Dawn. As they grapple with a desire that never died, they must also face the shared shadow from their pasts. Both Tucker and Dawn have the same question—has Jason Frost come back from the dead to hunt again? And this time, will he succeed in killing the victim who got away?

My Thoughts: Cynthia Eden can write romantic suspense with the best of them. I loved reading this book and want to dive right into more by her.

The Good: The opening sequence was written so well. It captured my attention exactly as it was meant to do and made me want to keep reading. The momentum continued throughout the book as well. Nothing sucks the life out of a Rom/Susp that can't keep up with it's own prologue. The characters are well thought out and I liked that we continued to learn and understand them throughout the book. The secondary characters are intriguing, especially Macey and Bowen who are part of the special task force Tucker is on. I also enjoyed the investigation aspect of the book. From the precinct, to the morgue, to the hospital, we were with the team every step of the way. The mystery suspense aspect in the story was well balanced with the romance as well. There weren't a lot of annoying misunderstandings between Tucker and Dawn and the characters didn't constantly push each other away (even though at one point it felt like it was almost going that way.)

The Bad: I went into this book with no knowledge of the series, the book order, or even what this book was about. With that in mind I need to say that even though this book was easily read without any other background of the characters or the special FBI unit Tucker is part of I am now very aware of who the perpetrator was in the first book, After the Dark. I'm not sure if this was common knowledge, meaning if the identity was known from almost the beginning of that book, but I'm a bit disappointed in knowing the killer's name and his ties to the other characters. So with that said, I'd recommend reading this series in order. I would prefer to read books as I pick them up and since you really shouldn't in this case I find it a negative. I also thought the killer's identity was a bit of a stretch and his reasoning a bit sketchy but nothing that would prevent me from recommending this book to lovers of these subgenre.

In a Nutshell: A very good book to what appears to be a good series. I'm looking forward to reading the others and if I didn't already have several books lined up I would even consider reading them all back to back. I never binge read so that says something about this book.

Sharpshooter by Cynthia Eden

Synopsis: Two years ago Gunner Ortez saved Sydney Sloan's life on a mission gone wrong. And ever since then, he's been watching her back. Now a hostage-rescue mission is about to blow the Elite Ops agents' lives apart once again.  Working side by side back in the jungles of Peru, the heat between Sydney and Gunner is hotter than ever-and so are the threats to their lives. With the danger escalating, Sydney knows Gunner is her only hope at successfully completing their assignment. But the ex-SEAL who arouses passion she'd only dreamed about also poses the greatest risk to the secret she carries in her heart...and in her belly.

My Thoughts: I used to read the Harlequin Intrigues exclusively, loving the mix of romance and suspense, but over the years I've neglected my gianormous stack(s) of Harlequins in favor of longer more main stream romances. It's quite unfortunate that the Harlequin/Silhouette category romances just don't get the word of mouth advertising and acknowledgement that other books do because many of these short thrilling Intrigues turn out to be quite good. I found that to be true with Sharpshooter, the third installment of Cynthia Eden's Shadow Agents series.

What Worked For Me: The passion between the hero and heroine was sizzling and the tension of the, well, intrigue, of the case that the Shadow Agents found themselves in was believable. Both the hero and the heroine were part of the Shadow Agents which gave me a totally kick butt chick to root for and a mysterious-can kill you with a paperclip-hero to worship a little bit. The hero was well fleshed out and it was easy to empathize with him throughout the book and the secondary characters Mercer and Cale were noteworthy.

What Didn't Work For Me: The heroine, Sydney, was just not as fleshed out as her counterpart, Gunner. We learned about Gunner's childhood background but learned virtually nothing of Sydney apart from a brief look into her relationship with Slade. In addition to the lack of character building of Sydney both the hero and heroine went on a mission and had quite the groan worthy faux pas. They had a TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) moment. While in the jungle on a rescue mission they stopped doing their job (in a highly hostile environment I might add) to argue about  their relationship. Say What?!?!?!?! Why would two extensively skilled special agents of a secret organization where they only hire the best of the best do this? How did they survive so long if they couldn't compartmentalize their feelings?

In a Nutshell: Despite a few issues I had with this book the overall experience was very good and I'll actively seek out the newest release Glitter and Gunfire (released August 20, 2013) because it's Cale's book (yahoo!) and also go back and read the first two books in this series. I would recommend anyone who likes a good romantic suspense to give this book a go.